Last night my husband brought home a huge chunk of birthday cake from the monthly office birthday party. I hate it when he does that - it just stares me in the face. Then my Mom sent over some white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Food pushers - be gone! I have 18 straight days on plan, workouts have been great and I am feeling good. I am not going to touch the stuff.

Good job, Ward!!

I agree! Good job WardHog! Willpower! You have too many good days under your belt to throw it away!!

There has been a confirmed case of swine flu in my school district at the elementary school next to the one I work at. I wonder if there will be more cases, and if I will be off of work for awhile? So far, they are just closing the one school, but I don't know if there are other suspected cases and it is obviously in my area. Kind of makes you want to stay home and not go anywhere, but I have to live. Thank goodness no one in my family has a comprised immune system. I did clean the gym equipment pretty thoroughly when I went last night. I hope this whole situation gets under control quickly. I go back and forth between thinking they (the media, the government) are overreacting, to thinking that maybe it really will be terrible and they know that and aren't telling us much. The latest recommendation I heard was if 2 schools in a school district have it that the entire school district should close for 2 weeks.

Good job, Ward!

Michele - they have a confirmed case in my hometown and my parents say people are freaking out... My mom is a nurse, so isn't overly worried, but there are talks of closing things, etc. And, the woman wasn't even from there - she was in town last weekend visiting her parents for a wedding and was hospitalized while there...

I've exercised now twice today, and am OP foodwise so far. Yesterday got a little crazy - I felt really bloated when I got home from work so decided to measure myself and my waist was two inches larger than in the morning. So, tailspin of snacking and no exercise yesterday was obviously the right response... Getting back on track today...

Good weekend everyone!

Way to go, Ward!

It's hard for me to evaluate how much of a threat the swine flu is, no matter how much I read about it. We have regular flu every winter that kills tens of thousands of people but everyone is pretty casual about it -- schools don't shut down, planes don't get diverted, people don't panic. Some people don't even bother with flu shots. This flu doesn't seem to be as serious, yet people are freaking out. DD is a paramedic in NM and says the hospital ERs are being overwhelmed by people who think that might have swine flu but don't. She can't even get patients in who need emergency care because the system is breaking down under the load of imaginary flu.

I guess the threat is that the flu will mutate into something more deadly. And we won't have a vaccine against it for months. But I just don't know -- am I missing something? Why is this so much more of a bigger deal than the regular flu?

DH was scheduled to go to Europe on business next week and the trip was canceled because of the travel advisories. I'm happy just because it will be nice to have him home and not dealing with the stresses of travel and jet lag.

It's a quiet weekend for us and I'm catching up on bills and laundry. Dinner tonight is a new recipe for garlic-ginger shrimp. It's a stirfry and I'll serve it with asparagus and rice (for DH).

The main problem with the swine flu right now is the panic. Don't have a heart attack, cause the ERs are full.

On a purely selfish note, we have been planning for 2 years to go to France in June. I really hope it's not cancelled. I think I need to practice saying "New Mexico is not in Mexico" in French.

The flu and cold viruses are always mutating, which is why we can catch more than one cold, sometimes one right after another, and also why the CDC makes a new batch of flu vaccine every year, based on viruses from the year before.

This variant of H1N1 flu virus is quite different genetically, and in that case no one knows how "bad" it's going to be. So far, evidently, it isn't any worse than the plain ol' ordinary influenza viruses that are going around.

It's too bad they called it swine flu, since all the type A H1N1 viruses can be found in birds, horses, pigs, and humans. I suppose it is most like the variant found more often in pigs, but I don't know.

We should always be washing our hands and wiping off gym equipment and staying home when we're sick!

Thank you for listening...
Jay

I think the problem with the H1N1 (swine) flu is that it has been labeled a pandemic and people don't understand just what pandemic means. It means it is widespread--over many countries or continents. So far it has been relatively mild. They do predict that it could come back in the fall much, much stronger. That is when we should be really worried.

MIchele~we have two schools in DS's district that have been closed--one for a week and one for two weeks. So far there is no indication that they'll close the entire district.

I've been doing really well this week. OP most of the time (95%) when often I slip up in the evening. Not so this week. However, after walking 18 holes of golf, we went out to lunch and I didn't do so well. It was a southwest wrap with chicken and a lot of lettuce. I ended up eating all the chicken, some of the beans and corn and other stuffing and only half the tortilla. But I did eat about 1/4 of the fries. I feel guilty, but it isn't going to ruin the rest of the day.

I study and work in public health, and I've seen polar opposite reactions to the swine flu... some people just aren't concerned, but the professor my friend works for is mandating that his entire staff work from home until this blows over because he's very concerned. He was also attempting to stockpile Tamiflu, but got denied. And he's an infectious disease specialist - maybe he knows more than me.... but I think the "threat" here is the uncertainty. This isn't quite like strains we've seen before and although it's been mild so far, no one knows what will happen. *shrug* my two cents.

I have a lot of work to get done (mostly writing up reports of sampling I've been doing) and am trying very hard not to stress out and munch while doing so!

Hello maintainers! I'm in hurry as usual these days and don't have time to catch up on the whole threads I've missed, but I still want to drop a few lines, so here goes.

Shane & Kim -- I'm sure you too will be able to take those annoying pounds down.

Dagmar -- I hope things get better for you. It sounds like it's really not easy, and can indeed make you feel down as well.

Shanna --

Regarding exercise, I have dropped behind badly regarding weight lifting, since the campus's sports center was closed for the past three weeks. But I've taken up on running more often instead, and even though I don't run very fast, I can hold my ground for one hour now without problem. I'm particularly proud of myself, because back in junior high, I couldn't run even 5 minutes, and this particular activity was really one of my weak points. The cherry on top is that now, I do it because I enjoy it, not even to prove a point.

School-wise, I might actually have the opportunity to teach a class, and I've decided to pick the worst one on the list. If I fail, it's not like I'll see them again, and if I manage to do it, then it'll be once more "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger". Besides, if I can survive *that*, it means my choice of career isn't so wrong. We'll see, we'll see.

Good Morning,

First, I just want to thank everyone again for all the thoughts and prayers and All of your love and support really means so much to me.

By the grace of God, we're healing little by little each day. The girls are doing much better. Yesterday my younger son (only son now, weird) came over and played with the girls for a couple of hours. We all laughed a lot, great healing. My oldest daughter, Cameo, is coming over today to play with the girls. Last night I wondered whether, after Adam left, the girls would have a rough time missing Ryan again, but they didn't cry at all last night. That's good.

Nights are usually the hardest for them. Early morning hours are usually the hardest for me. I still wake up every night (2 AM-ish) having dreams about trying to stop him or talk him out of it or something, but at least I'm able to get back to sleep now. We spent much of the past 4 years trying to help him get the meds/counseling he needed so that he wouldn't do this, and praying we wouldn't get that call. Bipolar is a nasty disease! Still, God is healing us.

Thanks for listening to me ramble.

My eating has still been mostly OP, and I did get in a short work out this morning. I'm drinking more water, but I think I'm still dehydrated.

I need to jump in the shower so that we aren't late for church. Tomorrow I go back to work - ugh! Oh well, it will keep my brain busy.

Hugs!

Shanna, I'm glad to hear your family is supporting each other during this tough time. You all continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.

Kery--Good luck with the teaching job. I've been teaching for 25 years now. There are good days and bad days. I've learned that you "can't save them all", but for the most part, it is a rewarding job--I work with at risk college students. My one piece of advice is "think abou what you're assigning". I teach two writing classes and a reading class at the college level. Recently, I made my own mess. I assigned essays in both writing classes along with optional rewrites in one of the writing classes and then proceeded to give an essay exam in my reading course. Needless to say, it was one **** of a week for me reading each and every word of writing and commenting on all of it. On a good note, it was good for the students, and I survived. Now, all the work is corrected (finished the reading exams yesterday), and I'm on the down side of classes--we're one week away from finals. Yeah! Teaching can be a lot of fun if you, and your students, choose for it to be that way

Now, for me. Almost 3 weeks ago, I returned to my weight loss eating. As of today, I've lost, and kept off, about 5 lbs. Sadly, I had lost 4 more lbs, but I screwed up. I started putting my hands into bags and boxes as they crossed my path and then sticking whatever was in my hand into my mouth. That didn't take long to catch up with me. UGH! Tomorrow, three weeks after I re-started losing to get rid of an extra 13 lbs, I'll be doing my low calorie diet eating burst for Monday and Tuesday. I'm planning on it getting me back on track again. I told my husband this morning that I was thinking "well, since I'm going to really tighten it down tomorrow, I may as well have some chocolate today". He, too, pointed out that that kind of thinking is pretty bad. Ok, so no chocolate today and tight eating tomorrow and Tuesday. I will be down more weight by Wednesday and will keep it off and continue to lose--I've stopped the bag grazing. I also seem to be challenged by exercising. I used to do 1.5-2 hours/day 5 days a week. Now, it's a struggle to do an hour 5 days a week. I hope the weather gets better soon because I think getting out and enjoying it and exercising outdoors--walking, hitting the hills, playing some tennis (ok, chasing the ball around the court when I can't hit it back and forth is what I need. I also need to get back to weight lifting again.

My son hit me with a question yesterday. I had just finished a salad for lunch and grabbed up a bag of 1/2 c cheerios (I'd measured them earlier . He noted that I am ALWAYS eating. He said "you complain about your weight and then you are constantly eating. Is it any wonder that you gain weight?" Wow! That one hit me right between the eyes! He's right; I am constantly eating. It's almost like if I don't have food in my hands, I don't know what to do. Are others like that? I mean I'm eating on plan, but it's rare that I'm not eating. I now have added another item to my food journaling--a listing of snacks. I'm going to keep track of what I eat for a snack and when I eat it. Ultimately, I'd like to limit myself to one snack in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. That will be a lot less than I'm eating right now for snacks. In my defense, a snack for me might be 1/2 c pudding (75 calories) or celery and peanut butter (oops! I don't usually measure the PB (note to self), or an apple. Maybe I should increase the amount of the one snack and I wouldn't need multiple snacks? I also have to find things to do. Again, in the cold right now (it's 40 here still), I can't get outside; but when the good weather comes, I can get out and do yard work or something to get away from the food. Now, the only way to get away is to go to sleep.

Well, that's been my week. I am making progress on losing weight. I am exercising still but not as much as I'd like, and I am eating a lot less than I was 3 weeks ago. I'd like the weight to go off much, much faster, but I am learning that it WILL go off which is reassuring.

I'd love to hear from others about if you ever feel like you're eating all the time and/or do you limit how many snacks you have during the day? As I said, I have a lot of snacks, but I also am still eating on plan, so it's not as if I'm eating off my plan (except for the bag grazing which I've zapped out of happening anymore!).